Experts say that a parent leaving for military service could greatly disrupt a child’s development, especially at a young age.

‘Kids often experience more anxiety,’ said Dr Michael Faran, a psychiatrist, retired colonel and chief of the Child, Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health Office at Army Medical Command.

Some studies suggest about 30 per cent of children will have difficulties as a result of deployment, according to a report in the US Army publication.

‘There’s an increase in depression and anxiety. There can be a decrease in academic performance. In some adolescents, there’s an increase in use of drugs and alcohol. And there has been more gang activity reported in some teens,’ Dr Faran noted.